THE CONCEPTS OF YOUTH, GENDER AND POLITICS

According to the World Development Report (WDR) 2012, gender is defined as socially
constructed norms and ideologies which determine the behaviors and actions of men and
woman in private and public life.
Gender refers to the social attributes and opportunities associated with being male and
female, the relationships between men and women, boys and girls. Gender refers to various
roles, rights, and responsibilities of men and women, as well as their interactions. It does not
simply refer to men and women but to how their characteristics, behaviors and identities are
formed because of socialization.
• Gender refers to the needs, opportunities, constraints, roles and responsibilities of men
and women that are created in families, societies, and cultures and in any given social
context.
• It also consists of the expectations held about the characteristics, aptitudes and likely
behaviours of both women and men (femininity and masculinity).
• It is different from sex which refers to the biological characteristics that categorizes a
person as either female or male.
• It influences all aspects of our lives; the schooling we receive, the social roles we
play, and the power and authority we command, how we bear and rear children etc.
• Gender roles and expectations are learned behaviours in a given society, community
or other social groups. They can change over time and they vary within and between
cultures.
Systems of social differentiation such as: age, class, ethnicity, religion, physical and mental
disability, as well as geographical, economic and political environment modify gender roles.
• The concept of gender is critical because, when applied to social analysis; it shows
how women’s subordination (or men’s domination) is socially constructed.
• Gender is not biologically predetermined.
Gender is a concept that can be broken into three categories: gender identity, gender
expression, and physical sex. Gender is dynamic it evolves with time.
• Gender Identity: gender identity is how a person sees himself or herself. Let us note
that we have basically male and female gender. However this is evolving as we now
have transgender. Some people whose biological sex does not match their gender
identity may make physical and social changes to express their gender identity i.e.
either male or female. Sometimes it may involve medical changes, surgery, or taking
hormones.
• Gender Expression: gender expression include all the ways a person communicates
their gender based on societal factors, such as gender norms and perceptions. Some
people have the same gender expression all the time. Some people change their
 gender expression overtime or based on their circumstances. Some people dress like
the opposite sex or exhibit their characteristics.
• Physical Sex: this is the development or changes of a person’s body over their life
span.
Gender Equality
• It is the goal #5 on the list of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); to promote
gender equality and empowerment of women.
• Gender equality is a goal that has been accepted by governments and international
organizations. On 25 September 2015, the 194 countries of the UN General Assembly
adopted the 2030 Development Agenda titled Transforming our world: the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development. Nigeria is one of the countries.
• It is enshrined in international agreements and commitments (Committee on the
Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW).
• Equality is the cornerstone of every democratic society that aspires to social justice
and human rights (UN, 2002).
Gender equality means that women and men should receive equal treatment and they
should have equal opportunities and conditions for realizing their full potentials, human
rights and for contributing to, and benefiting from, economic, social, cultural and political
development (UNESCO, 2003).
• It also entails the concept that all human beings, both men and women, are free to
develop their personal abilities and make choices without the limitations set by
stereotypes, rigid gender roles and prejudices (UNDP, 2000).
• Besides, it means the similarities and the differences, aspirations and needs of men
and women, and the roles they play, are considered, valued and favoured equally by
the society and do not give rise to different consequences that reinforce inequalities.
• It is based on women and men being full partners in their home, workplace,
community and society. They should also secure equal pay for equal work.
• It does not mean that women and men have to become the same, but that their rights,
responsibilities and opportunities do not depend on whether they are male or female.
Benefits of Gender Equality
• Fairness- social justice is the foundation for human rights
• Economic prosperity for all, there is unrestricted access to resources for women.
When both genders are empowered everyone enjoys and there is improvement for all
• Health and happiness for all
• Peace and security
 • Limitless possibilities and sustainable development for all.
• Similarities and the differences, aspirations and needs of men and women, and the
roles they play, are considered, valued and favoured equally by the society and do not
give rise to different consequences that reinforce inequalities.
• Gender equality entails the concept that all human beings, both men and women, are
free to develop their personal abilities and make choices without the limitations set by
stereotypes, rigid gender roles and prejudices (UNDP, 2000).
• Gender and development focuses on gender mainstreaming or strategy that involves
women in decision making, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies,
programmes and projects in all social, political, civil and economic spheres so that
men and women benefit equally.
• (Rubin and Bartle, 2005; Oni and Agbude 2011; Ihemeje, 2013; Nkana 2019).
• (Nkana 2019).
GENDER EQUITY
It is the process of being fair to men and women, according to their respective needs. This
may comprise equal treatment or treatment that is different but which is considered
equivalent in terms of rights, benefits, opportunities and obligations.
To ensure fairness, measures must often be put in place to compensate for the historical and
social disadvantages that prevent women and men from operating on a level playing field
(UNESCO, 2003).
Equity is a means; Equality is the result.
GENDER DISCRIMINATION
• It is a situation in which someone is treated poorly because of his or her sex, usually
when a woman is treated less well than a man.
• Gender discrimination based on sex is a common civil rights violation that takes many
forms.
These include restriction of women’s access to social services and resources which comprise
healthcare, housing, potable water, land and education. It also include sexual harassment,
pregnancy discrimination, and unequal pay for women who do the same jobs as men.
GENDER EMPOWERMENT
• It is about people -both women and men- taking control over their lives:
setting their own agendas, acquiring skills, building self-confidence, solving problems and
developing self-reliance.
Empowerment is about participation.
• It is a process that marks change over a period of time and requires that the individual
being empowered is involved as a significant agent in that change process (Malhotra
et al., 2002).
• Institutions comprising international cooperation agencies can support processes that
can nurture self-empowerment of individuals or groups. No one can empower
another: only the individual can empower herself or himself to make choices or to
speak out.
An empowered woman is one who has the agency to formulate strategic choices and to
control resources and decisions that affect important life outcomes (Kabeer, 1999).
• The core of the concept of empowerment lies in the ability of the woman to control
her own destiny.
• To be empowered women must have equal capabilities (such as education and health)
and access to resources and opportunities.
• They must also have the agency to use those rights, capabilities, resources, and
opportunities to make strategic choices and decisions (such as is provided through
leadership opportunities and participation in political institutions) (Grown et al.,
2003).
GENDER POLICY
It is intended to advance gender equality and women's empowerment or reduce
discrimination and inequalities based on sex.
The result of gender policy is characterized by the fact that societal norms regarding
"masculinity" and "femininity" are broken and that women and men have equal access to
power, authority and resources.
A policy needs to be gender sensitive if it is to address or reduce gender inequalities
otherwise policies would actually reinforce further oppression or discrimination.
In other words, policy must respond quickly to changes in requirements, interests, and
perceptions with regard to men’s and women’s social roles, and promote equality.
• Most occupations are now equally available to men and women. For example, many
countries permit women to serve in the armed forces, the police, and to be fire
fighters. These are occupations traditionally reserved for men.
• Similarly, men are increasingly working in occupations which in previous times had
been considered women’s work, such as nursing, cleaning and child care.
GENDER QUOTAS
• They are used to create equal representation among genders within legislation to
contribute to the promotion of gender equality, and ease the access of women into
positions of governance.
• Instituting gender quotas is meant to increase the number of women who hold
political power and management positions.
• Gender quotas can be institutionalized even in the workplace whereby qualified
women are given high decision-making positions in organizations where they work.
GENDER MAINSTREAMING
• It was established as a major global strategy for the promotion of gender equality in
the Beijing Platform for Action from the fourth United Nations world conference on
women in Beijing in 1995.
• It is a globally recognized strategy for achieving gender equality and improve the
relevance of development agendas (the ultimate goal of gender mainstreaming is to
achieve gender equality).
• Simply put, gender mainstreaming is undertaken within sectors, such as in
organizations, companies and education, to make sure that the benefits of the sector
are equally enjoyed by women and men.
• Gender mainstreaming entails bringing the perceptions, experience, knowledge and
interests of women as well as men to bear on policy-making, planning and decision-
making.
Mainstreaming should situate gender equality issues at the centre of analyses and policy
decisions, medium-term plans, programmes budgets, and institutional structures and
processes.
• Through policy-making and implementation, gender mainstreaming should lead to
changes in the structure of the mainstream.
• Gender mainstreaming is about the concerns of men and women, the relations
between them, and the root causes of imbalances of power.
• Since women have a greater burden of poverty and suffering globally due to
systematic discrimination against them at all institutional levels. Therefore, gender
mainstreaming aims to support women’s ability to exercise their human rights.